RBSE Secondary Urdu flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Markazi khayal

The central idea of a prose lesson or nazm, stated in one sentence and then supported by two textual incidents rather than by a plot summary.

Khaka in nasr

A character sketch: the dominant trait, one supporting incident from the lesson, and whether the character changes by the end.

Musannif versus rawi

Musannif is the author who wrote the lesson; rawi is the narrator whose voice speaks within it, which may not equal the author's own opinion.

Paigham of a lesson

The universal message about human behaviour, society, or values that the prose lesson conveys, phrased as a general statement rather than as plot.

Tashbeeh

Simile in Urdu poetry, marked by comparison words such as ka, jaise, or manind, where the two things compared are both explicitly named.

Isti'ara

Metaphor in Urdu poetry: a comparison made without any comparison word, so the borrowed image stands directly in place of the thing described.

Takrar

Repetition of a word or phrase in a nazm to create emphasis, rhythm, or emotional intensity; named as a device with a quoted example.

Tajnīs

Wordplay using two words that are alike or identical in sound but differ in meaning, valued in nazm and ghazal for wit and musical effect.

Nazm versus ghazal

A nazm has a title and one unified theme; a ghazal is a chain of thematically independent couplets sharing metre, qafia, and radif.

Matla

The opening couplet of a ghazal, in which both lines carry the qafia and radif; it sets the rhyme pattern for the whole ghazal.

Maqta

The closing couplet of a ghazal, conventionally containing the poet's takhallus, the pen name by which the poet is known.

Radif

The word or phrase repeated identically, in the same position, at the end of both lines of every sher in a ghazal.

Qafia

The rhyming element immediately preceding the radif; it recurs with matching sound across the ashaar of a ghazal.

Tashreeh of a sher

Explanation of a couplet in three layers: literal meaning, deeper meaning, and a comment on the craft or emotion conveyed.

Behr

The metre of a ghazal; all ashaar share one behr, and a deviation in the arkan pattern breaks the couplet's correctness.

Fail-e-mazi

The Urdu verb form for a completed past action, such as gaya or likha, as opposed to ongoing and future forms.

Fail-e-haal

The Urdu verb form expressing an ongoing or habitual present action, typically built with raha hai or the simple present form.

Fail-e-mustaqbil

The Urdu verb form for future action, usually formed with the ga suffix, as in jayega or karega.

Ne case marker

The ergative particle ne, which marks the subject of a transitive verb in the perfective tense, as in us ne likha.

Feminine plural in -iyan

Rule for feminine nouns ending in -i: the plural adds -iyan, so larki becomes larkiyan; masculine nouns in -a instead take -e.

Dastavi khat

A formal letter, containing sender's address, date, addressee's designation, salutation, subject line, body, and a complimentary close.

Darkhwast

An application written to an authority in formal register, with address, date, designation, subject, respectful request, and signature block.

Mazmoon structure

Three-part essay plan: tamheed introducing the topic, wusat developing three or four points with examples, and natija closing with a conclusion.

Mazmooncha

A short paragraph holding a single idea: opening sentence states it, middle sentences support it, closing sentence rounds it off.

SOV to SVO shift

Core rule of Urdu-to-English translation: the Urdu verb sitting last must move forward to follow the subject in English order.

Muhavra translation

Idioms are rendered by an equivalent idiom in the target language, not literally; literal rendering of a muhavra produces nonsense.

Passive with gaya

Urdu constructions such as likha gaya correspond to the English passive was written, and must not be translated as active voice.

Khulasa

A summary of an unseen passage, reduced to roughly one third of the original, keeping the main argument and dropping examples and repetition.

Vocabulary in context

Giving the meaning a word carries within the given passage, verified by substituting that meaning back into the sentence.

Inferential answer

An answer about what the passage implies rather than states, always paired with the supporting line from the text.

Mufradat letters

Non-joining Urdu letters such as alif, dal, re, ze, and wao, which never connect to the following letter within a word.

Do-chashmi he

The he with a medial loop, used in words such as chahiye; confusing it with the plain he is a frequent Urdu spelling error.